SOLS Systems were a foot orthotic manufacturing start-up launched in July 2013 with over $20 million in venture capital funding based in New York, NY. They withdraw from that market in late 2016. SOLS used a 3D printing facility based in Austin, Texas to produce custom foot orthotics for the professional market (branded as ‘SOLSRx’) and direct to the consumer (branded as ‘ExoSOLS’). Following the launch of the company the CEO, Kegan Schouwenburg, was widely interviewed in the business and 3D printing media, but the product was not as widely accepted in the health professional markets that it was aimed at. The company was purcahsed by Aetrex in February 2017 (press release).
ExoSOLS Promotional Video:
Systems used by SOLS:
The image of the foot was captured via an app on an iPad (that is no longer available):
Timeline:
July 2013: Founded
January 2016: Laid off 20% of staff due to failure in the podiatry market
https://www.facebook.com/groups/540608449384111/permalink/671277449650543/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/207000109406878/permalink/867331680040381/
Commentary:
- the demise of the company was widely predicted in the foot orthotic industry due a failure to understand the market; a the lack of foot orthotic industry expertise on staff; and a lack of foot orthotic industry expertise and experience by those in advisory positions
- this lack of expertise may explain why the above method of imaging the foot was adopted which was widely considered as flawed
- this was an expensive failure (>$20 million in venture capital funding lost)
- the company had no involvement with the professional foot orthotic industry association (PFOLA)
External Links:
SOL.com (website)
SOLS IPad capture printed orthotics (Podiatry Arena)
Related Topics:
3D printing of foot orthotics | PFOLA
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